IP Incubator Club Thread 2013: Bi-Week-004: May 20-June 2- 2013

#1

Rob Note:
Past Threads:
IP Incubator Club Thread 2013: Bi-Week-003: May 6-19- 2013
IP Incubator Club Thread 2013: Bi-Week-002: April 22-May 5- 2013
IP Incubator Club Thread 2013: Week-001: April 15-21- 2013

Projects So Far:
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[SPOILER]
The Projects so far this week:

Project Name:____________CATEGORY:[color=dimgray]Start Date: First Post______Link[/color]

[b][color=#ffffff][color=#fffffe]STASIS[color=dimgray]_________________Games ______Dec 2010_____04-16-2013 ___Link
NeverEndingPrincessStory[color=dimgray]Animation____TBD__________04-16-2013 Link[/color]
Le Gouffre[color=dimgray]_______________Animation July 2011______04-16-2013 Link [/color]
Top secret project[color=dimgray] ________Animation TBD_________04-16-2013 Link [/color]
Spec Commercial__________Animation[color=#696969]___ April 2013___04-17-2013[color=#696969] Link[/color]
I am the Antagonist[color=#696969]______Cross Media TBD__________04-17-2013 _Link[/color]
[color=white]SCHIRKOA_______________Animation___ Mid 2010______04-17-2013[color=#696969]___ Link[/color][/color]
HYPERREALITY ENGINE_____3D Engine ___ April 2013_____04-18-2013[color=#696969]___ Link [/color]
Blaster X HD[color=dimgray]_____________Games ______End of 2010____04-25-2013 ___Link
Soliloquy of a Madman[color=dimgray] _____ Games _____January 2013___04-23-2013 ___Link
[/color]Le Gouffre _______________Animation_____ July 2013_____ 04-23-2013___[size=2][size=2]Link[/size]
[/size]I LOVE KAIJU_____________Animation[color=#696969]___ April 2013______05-04-2013[color=#696969]___ Link[/color][/color]
NeverEndingPrincessStory __ Animation June 2010_______04-29-2013_ Link[/color][/color]
[/color][/SPOILER]

[/b][/color][/color]

THE IP INCUBATOR CLUB.

in·cu·bate

/ˈɪnkyəˌbeɪt, ˈɪŋ-/ Show Spelled [in-kyuh-beyt, ing-] Show IPA verb, in·cu·bat·ed, in·cu·bat·ing.verb (used with object)

  1. to sit upon (eggs) for the purpose of hatching.
  2. to hatch (eggs), as by sitting upon them or by artificial heat.
  3. to maintain at a favorable temperature and in other conditions promoting development, as cultures of bacteria or prematurely born infants.
    4. to develop or produce as if by hatching; give form to: His brain was incubating schemes for raising money.

Welcome to the IP Incubator Club
The idea behind this Club is simple

POST WEEKLY UPDATES of Original IP that you are developing. Hopefully IP that can eventually help the creator generate some income.
Also you should provide CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK to the work posted by other posters of the club.

The idea of this “Incubator Club” is to get away from the gloom and doom and provide a lifeline of support for our fellow artists.

The artists will have at their discretion how much they wish to share on the projects they are working on, what program they will be using and the medium . But the IP HAS BE AN ORIGINAL CREATION.

YOU HAVE ONE WEEK TO POST AND UPDATE…

There are 3 ways to participate:

[ul]
[li]IP CREATOR[/li]

Post bi-weekly updates of ip you are developing.

Some Examples:
[list]
[li]A 3d artist developing a line of Vinyl toys on ZBrush[/li][li]A game developing working on a mobile game that uses Geo spatial data.[/li][li]An Artist working to update his porfolio[/li][li]A group of animators animator working on a weekly web series[/li][/ul]
[li][size=2][color=darkorange]But If you post your idea, please provide feedback on other’s ideas.[/size][/color][/li]
[li]IP REVIEWER[/li]
Provide reviews and comments of the IP being developed.
[li]I am looking for people like Roger Eberts of the world and not the Simon Cowels.DIVAS will NOT BE TOLERATED.[/li]

IP MENTORSHIP
An experienced artist/ develop can offer mentorship for the IP creators.
Some examples:

[ul]
[li]An AAA game developer looking to help upcoming talent[/li][li]Experienced feature animators could review game animations.[/li][li]Writers can comment on story points[/li][/ul]
[/list]ANYONE CAN JOIN.

DEVELOPER CO-SPONSORS
My wife is a social worker and she suggested the idea that we use a SPONSOR model similar to AA. [size=2]The idea is to match developers with individual sponsors. People whose responsability is to monito the progress of a specific project. The sponsors would be fellow developers. It would be their responsibility to provide support and provide guidance to the developer from an outsider’s point of view. I’m not advocating “mentorship” where there usually is an imbalance of expertise/knowledge between two parties. Rather, I envision sponsorship to be a vehicle for peer support, for consultation between and among artists who each have valuable tools, experience, and knowledge to share. Sponsorship is method for both parties to learn and grow professionally and perhaps personally as well.[/size]

[font=Verdana]
The C[/font]oncept:___________________________
Ok so lets recap:
[color=white]The idea behind this IP incubator club is to provide a cool hangout place for IP creators. [/color]recap…
Weekly threads will be posted, to provide encouragement for developer to keep working on their idea.

On way to see this is to think of us as a spotter on your local gym.
You use your WIP thread to post your regular updates, But ONCE A WEEK you post on the IP INC thread a summary, based on the forsmat posted blow.

GENERAL RULES:

[ul]
[li]FOR GEN DISCUSSION of the IP CLUB CLICK HERE: Your Own IP?[/li][li]WEEKLY WIP are encouraged[/li][li]On your weekly post please Fill the following information (you can cut and paste it:)[/li][/ul]
CONCEPT NAME:

STILL IMAGE: (VOLUNTARY)
CATEGORY:

Art
Animation
Comics
Design
Fashion (3D Printing)
Film
Games
[i][b]Merchandizing
[i][b]Publishing
Technology
Toys
Web Comics
Video

[/b][/i][/b][/i]
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
STATUS NUMBER: 1
TEAM MEMBERS:(Voluntary)
START DATE
ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE : (Voluntary) -
WIP THREAD:
WHAT WENT RIGHT THIS WEEK:
WHAT WENT WRONG:
SHOW AND TELL:

[ul]
[li]WIP thread should be posted on the appropriate CGSociety/Game Art Sub forum and should follow the following naming convention: IP Incubator!:xxxxx:[/li][li]Only participants who follow the rules and submit a weekly Entry entry will be eligible for a monthly spotlight ( A frontpage plug).[/li][li]Any piece caught breaking the rules will be taken off the thread.[/li][li]When you are done creating your IP please do give at least a thank you to the IP. We need the press.[/li][/ul][size=2]
[/size]
RESOURCES:
ART LAW RESOURCES:
–CLICK TO EXPAND–
[SPOILER]
What is a Trademark?
http://www.uspto.gov/faq/trademarks.jsp
What is a Copyright?
http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/

US
http://www.copyright.gov/
http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/index.jsp

INT
http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en

Notable Laws:
Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works
Copyright Act of 1976
Copyright Act, 1978
[/SPOILER]
MARKETPLACES:
–CLICK TO EXPAND–
[Spoiler]
Film/ Video/ Animation Content
[ul]
[list]
[li]http://vimeo.com/[/li][li]http://www.youtube.com/[/li][li]Stock Footage:[/li][li]http://www.pond5.com/index.php?ref=orbitrob[/li][li]http://submit.shutterstock.com/[/li][li]http://www.stockfootageseller.com[/li][li]http://www.stockfootageseller.com/w…ostock-logo.jpg[/li][/ul]
[/list]Games/Apps

[ul]
[list]
[li]http://store.steampowered.com/[/li][li]http://www.microsoftstore.com/store…DisplayHomePage[/li][li]http://developer.android.com/index.html[/li][li]Web Comics[/li][li]www.comixology.com[/li][/ul]
[/list]3D Models (for Animation)

[ul]
[list]
[li]http://www.turbosquid.com/[/li][li]http://www.daz3d.com/[/li][li]3D Models (for 3d Printing)[/li][li]https://www.ponoko.com/[/li][li]http://www.shapeways.com/[/li][li]http://www.sculpteo.com/en/[/li][li]http://i.materialise.com/[/li][/ul]
[/list]Clip Art

Custom Merchadize:
http://www.zazzle.com/
http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/Make Magazine: Ultimate Guide for 3D Printing is a FANTASTIC resource. GET IT if you are interested in getting into this market:
http://www.amazon.com/Make-Ultimate…s=make+magazine

[/SPOILER]
CONFERENCES:
–CLICK TO EXPAND–
[Spoiler]
Digital Media:

[ul]
[li]SXSW[/li][li]Shepton Digi Fest[/li][li]NAB[/li][/ul]Gaming:
[ul]
[li]PAX[/li][li]PAX East[/li][li]Independent Games Festival’[/li][li]E3[/li][/ul]Europe:
[ul]
[li]Edinburgh Interactive Festival[/li][li]Eurogamer Expo[/li][/ul]Comics:
[ul]
[li]Comicon[/li][li]SPX[/li][/ul]Animation Festivals:
[ul]
[li]SIGGRAPH [/li][li]Bradford Animation Festival[/li][/ul][/Spoiler]

#2

Hi Roberto,

Question for you…now that the IP Club has been going for a couple of weeks, what are your thoughts on how it is working so far? Do you see more activity or awareness from other CGTalk members about the IP Club? How has the reception been from Ballistic, as I know they seemed to be interested early on?

I know it is still fairly early and there is a lot of “growing” yet to do. I am just curious to see what your thoughts and feelings are so far, and any possbile plans or ideas that may be implemented in the future.

#3

I am working on it. I wan to do something some formal (and talking to the good folk at ballistic), but right now I cant (I am in the middle of a big production here at work). But I will keep you guys in the loop.

#4

CONCEPT NAME: Soliloquy of a Madman

WEBSITE: www.soliloquyofamadman.com

CATEGORY: Games (PC, MAC, Linux)

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Within the depths of his own mind, a man seeks the answer to an unknown question. Facing fragmented thoughts, haunting memories and reflections of self, the actions taken will lead to enlightenment or self-destruction.

STATUS NUMBER: 3

START DATE: January 2013

ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE : Q4 2013 | Phase 1 | Prototype & Design Doc

PROJECT GOALS:

To create my first independent video game by myself and earn at least one year’s worth of living expenses. My first step towards running a small indie game studio.

WHAT WENT RIGHT THIS WEEK:

An experienced audio designer got in contact with me and is offering to help provide me with some sound effects and music elements for the game. In exchange, I will help him develop C# scripts which will interface Unity with the audio mixing technology he is using. He gives me audio, which will help me pitch my game an I’ll give him technology that lets him serve more customers, it’s win-win.

I also got a few new pieces of concept art from a friend of mine, these are concept for the various environments in the game. I want the look and feel to be largely abstract, so these were an awesome start to exploring those ideas (see below)

Lesson Learned - There is termendous value in building real-life relationships and connections with people. Go to networking events, show what you are working on everywhere and if you have an interesting idea, people will want to be a part of it. Build it and they will come, but they have to know it’s there!

WHAT WENT WRONG:

Between work, client work and having a social life, I didn’t have any time to dedicate towards this project this week.

SHOW AND TELL:

Character Morphing (Copy form last week, in case anyone missed it)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ-xwqz-6Kg

Volcanic and Root Environments | Rough level layout / concepts

Limbo Environment | The world between levels

#5

Grant, this has that whole Bioware, Fable vibe going on…

I love it!

Definitely looks “Market” to me… Just don’t forget you need to make sure you talk the part as well… Unfortunately, you won’t be the only one with a game coming out.

But I really love this.

#6

CONCEPT NAME: Le Gouffre

PRODUCTION BLOG: http://legouffre.com/en

CATEGORY: Animation

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Le Gouffre is an 8-minute animated short film about two travellers who embark on the amazing journey of crossing an impossible gap. We are working full-time on this film, living on our own money, and we are basically trying to tell a great, dramatic story for everyone while creating a unique look that blends hand-painted textures with realistic animation.

PROJECT GOALS:

Win festivals, then make a big hit on the internet and gain the visibility and credibility that will allow us to eventually be able to live on telling our own stories.

STATUS NUMBER: 4

TEAM MEMBERS: 3

Carl Beauchemin - Animation and Rigging
Thomas Chrétien - FX and Compositing
David Forest - Animation and Art Direction

START DATE: July 2011

ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: December 2013

WIP THREAD: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=153&t=1085457

WHAT WENT RIGHT THIS WEEK:

I’ve been reworking some old shots with the new tricks we found (like how to render a decent reflection pass to get a nice rim light/wet effect), and the results are much better than what we had before!

WHAT WENT WRONG:

We received the news concerning the grant we were applying for and we haven’t been selected. We’ll have to call in two weeks to know exactly why, but for now, we’re working on finding alternate plans to go through the rest of the year.

SHOW AND TELL:

We’ve posted a new short clip on our blog! It’s showing a few villagers running for cover inside the mill because of the storm.

Also, here’s one of the shot I reworked this week!

#7

@ David:

If it’s anything like most national art grant programs, they may cite “National Values/Interest” as reasons for declining.

You might have to consider re-writing the characters as members of the Canadian Olympics Gymnastics Team or something.

#8

@David - From what I’ve seen the grants available in Canada are nearly impossible to get unless you are a special interest group, are a part of the art circle or a member of a non-profit organization. Also, they seem to have an especially strong dislike for new media (CG, interactive art, games, etc…). I don’t say this to discourage you, definitely keep applying because you never know when luck will come your way. Rather, I just hope you aren’t expecting to be awarded when planning the budget for your film. If you need money to complete the project, I’d highly suggest looking into alternate sources of funding.

The shot on your blog looks interesting and that still looks fantastic. How long is your film going to be? Out of curiosity, what software are you using?

@CGIPadawan - Thanks! Fable was actually one of my favourite games so I’m sure elements of that trickled through as inspiration. I’m hoping I can take the good/bad mechanic and expand upon it more than just the visual presentation and actually have your tendency affect gameplay (how successful attacks are, how enemies react to you, etc…). Definitely a long road ahead of me and I know people will be comparing my one-man game against other studio’s titles, but the impossible challenge is half the fun! Thanks for the encouragement.

#9

Guys I want to talk about companies that would seel content for you,
using paying channels, like Google and Vimeo . And how we can encourage people to develop content for those mediums.

Also I want to talk about this news:

Amazon Publishing Introduces “Kindle Worlds,” a New Publishing Model for Authors Inspired to Write Fan Fiction—Launching with an Initial License of Popular Titles from Warner Bros. Television Group’s Alloy Entertainment

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/amazo…-130000223.html

They would be paying Fan fiction authors, a digital royalty of 20%!

This is a BIG DEAL.

#10

@ Grant:

I think what would be interesting is that vibe where to Create or Destroy is neither good nor evil. Because they are part of a cycle. So your character is one of two Emphasis on the cycle - and that way you are “good” either way.

Just a suggestion.

In “The Witcher” games they kinda leave you blind about the Good/Evil thing and it’s reduced to alignments For and Against parties with effects that help or hinder you. That’s also an interesting model.

#11

Spot on. I’m not saying it’s the only reason we missed it, but that’s probably one of them. I heard they don’t really receive many animation projects as well, so we where probably in competition with a majority of live-action projects with much larger teams than us, with an actual dedicated producer, DOP, etc. I guess it does look more organised and production-ready on paper.

Thanks buddy! The film is going to be 8 minutes long and we’re using Softimage XSI for the 3D + After Effects for the compositing.

By the way, nice vibe going on in your last concepts! Are you learning Unity as you go along or do you have some background in game developping?

@RobertoOrtiz

I’m not much into fan fiction but I suppose that’s a big deal for those who are. It does mean customers will also have to pay for those stories from now on though. I wonder how that will play out and if the usual fans of fanfiction will follow.

#12

Then you have re-write the characters as Canadian Olympic Athletes trapped in a mishap… or you have to start trooping it to companies like “North Face” or “Marlboro Classics” apparel… Samsonite for the bags…

And before you shoot that suggestion down? You should see “The Prom Date” by DumbDumb and how they used an Orbit Gum affiliation for story effect:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tcKdfy1Ego

#13

Ok guys, I will be spotlighting (plugging) one of the projects next week.
Keep in mind that as you post your updates.

BTW
Just for inspiration…
http://vimeo.com/64386008

#14

@Grant - I really like the concept design work - it looks really nice. Not only does the quality of the concepting look really good, but also your ideas that you are showing and describing make me want to play the game when it is done. Also, thanks for posting the morph video again, as I did miss it from last week. It is really neat how you have the vertex morph and shader swapping taking place - very smooth!

@Frotze - The animation is looking great! I can hardly wait to see the finished product. I took a look at your blog and the videos on there too, your cinematography and animation is spot-on! Keep up the great work.

#15

Hi Everyone,

In honor of the Holiday weekend for some of us, and also since I have been a part of this IP thread now, I wanted to pass out a couple of Promo-codes for our game Blaster X HD. I thought, in addition to posting about the progress of our game, that it might be nice if some of you would like to try it as well and possibly give direct gameplay feedback, if anyone is interested. I will try to get some more Promo-codes as soon as I can, I am just running a little low right now with the batch that I have available. (Blaster X HD is for all generations iPad and iPad Mini)

Blaster X HD: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/blaster-x-hd/id615851024?mt=8

Promo-codes
3YPEHPW7YAX9
9WN3WTK6YRFH

Have a Great Weekend!
Rudy

#16

@ Rudy: Have you considered trying something like Nintendo Direct? With dated featurette/bulletin style videos?

We were comparing various promo methods used by Ouya, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, and I found Nintendo Direct to be the most effective.

Definitely does a very good job of “getting it out there”.

They also use the program to announce Free DLC and incentive programs.

It does help to have a strong talker though in front of the camera. Nintendo has the benefit of having a lot of trained speakers, led by Reggie Fils-Aime… It may not be for everyone as the wrong style can easily backfire on someone’s product (see: Kaz “Riiiiidge Raaaacer” Hirai).

#17

That is a good idea. I have not really thought about that, so thank you for letting me know. I have not followed Nintendo too much as of lately, but do you by chance have a link? I just want to make sure I find the same thing you are describing.

Thanks for the info,
Rudy

#18

Nintendo has a YouTube Channel… and if you search “Nintendo Direct” on YouTube… you’ll see a lot of them with the dates they’re on.

The May 17th one featured an announcement for new games, incentive packages, promoting Indie games made on Wii-U (using Unity Pro 4), as well as a reminder that fans should “Mark June 11 for the next Nintendo Direct where we will do a special broadcast for E3.”

I felt this was a really smart idea. In fact because basically it’s now like E3 for them all the time, Nintendo isn’t doing the traditional E3 stage show this year.

They also have a Direct page on Nintendo.com where the live Direct video is aired first before YouTube.

It’s very nice… I think it also, surprisingly, feels very “Indie” in vibe. Nintendo, a big company, using YouTube… making viral videos about announcements, special offers… even promoting other people’s games.

It’s something you guys can do also.

#19

Thank you very much for the idea and the direction on where to look for this. It sounds very interesting and does seem like something we could do as well. I am going to look into it some more, and thanks again for the help. :slight_smile:

#20

Also note that E3 is kind of like the “Gaming Mardi Gras”. The words “E3” and “Announcement” are typed very often on the YouTube search bar - hint hint. :slight_smile:

And even if you’re not launching at E3 or announcing something there… you can still make a video around that “season”. :slight_smile:

A clever idea, for example, would be to use “E3” as a video tag… even if you’re not going to the event… and in the video you just say: “Since it’s E3 time and everybody is thinking about games… here’s something from 2GMG to match the season…”

See?

Related to this: Old trick. But I noticed THQ used to have a “Ticker Tape” under the title screen of “Saints Row The Third” where THQ announces new DLC for Saints Row The Third and even plugging for new THQ games.

If you have something similar on Blaster X it can help form a stronger “community” and “relationship” between yourself and players who already own Blaster X.